The Woman under the Museum
by Iceache
Summary: Booth and Brennan are finding their professional relationship more and more challenging, coupled with a difficult case and an elusive suspect tensions mount. Will Booth and Brennan realise that in order to move forward on a professional level, personal pr
1. Chapter 1

Brennan closes her eyes wearily and rubs her temples. It's late, the office is deserted for the weekend and her fight with Booth earlier today is churning in her head. She has never been one for melodrama, and weakness irritates her…but the look of hurt on his face today had drained the blood from her stomach, made her feel ill and strangely afraid, of what she wasn't sure. He'd turned on his heel and walked calmly out of the lab, she'd been stubborn and stared at the file in front of her refusing to watch his retreating form. She looks up at the clock and sighs; she's been thinking lately, a lot. About where her life is going, about where it should have been already, about where she was too afraid to let it go. So here she is, in a deserted lab on a late Friday night with nothing but her regrets to keep her company. She frowns as the first tear begins to slip down her cheek, unbidden, unforeseen and unwelcomed.

Booth lies on his sofa nursing the end of a beer, he downs the remaining drops of liquid and places the empty bottle on the table next to 6 others. He throws an arm over his eyes and sighs. It'd been a rough week; they'd been at each other's throats the entire time. She was frustrated at the lack of progress on the case, admittedly, he was frustrated too. Over the past couple of days the arguing had become increasingly personal and the working relationship strained. It was as much his fault as it was hers, but they were both too stubborn to admit it, he could see that now.

Today she'd called him a coward….it was the last thing that he would ever expect to hear from her, but like a fool he let his pride take the blow. He didn't know why it mattered, but a coward was the last thing he ever wanted her to imagine him as.

His mind travels back to rescuing her from Kenton's grasp, how she'd clung to him as though he were her lifeline. He had been ashamed at the time to enjoy the feeling of being needed by her but looking back on it now, he wondered if it wasn't she who was comforting him. She was under his skin, her innocent naivety and social ineptness had somehow managed to win her a place in his heart. She affected his entire being, not to mention his personal relationships. Tessa was a victim of Brennan's subtle influence on his life. Tessa could never understand his need to save Brennan, just like he could never explain it.

He swings his legs over the side of the sofa and sits up, he'd been putting off thinking about his relationship with Brennan, now with a few beers under his belt the thoughts were hard to suppress. What did he feel for this woman? Respect? Friendship?...Running his hands through his hair he knows his dishonesty with himself. He loves her, he has since the first time he set eyes on her, since the first time he saw the fire in her eyes and the naïve beauty in her features. He shakes his head and pushing himself to his feet grabs his jacket from the corner of his sofa.


	2. Chapter 2

Brennan stares at the file in front of her, she knows that she is missing something but she doesn't know what. Flicking through the pages she stops on Hodgins' findings. She frowns at the written words in front of her and then all of a sudden as though the room has been filled with light, her features relax and she smiles. Picking up her pad she scribbles down some notes before standing up and grabbing her jacket. With a final sweeping glance over the office she turns out the light and exits.

Opening the door to her apartment Brennan shuffles inside, a pizza box in one hand, a six pack of beers in the other hand and her keys hanging out of her mouth. She moves to the kitchenette and drops everything onto the counter before walking back to the door and closing it gently. Bending down she picks up her mail and flicks her lamp on. When she stands up she is met by Booth, he's standing in her living area, hands in his pockets.

"Booth! What the hell are you doing here?"

He shrugs and smiles sheepishly, she stands with her arms crossed, the mail dangling from her fingers "How the hell do you get into my apartment?"

He scuffs his foot across the floor…"I wanted to talk to you…I didn't want to leave things the way that they were."

Brennan walks into the kitchen and opens a beer. She takes a long swig and then nods at him gently. Picking up the pizza box she saunters into the living area and flops onto the sofa. Nodding at the space next to her Booth smiles and seats himself gently.

"Pizza?"

"Thanks Bones."

"I'm sorry I shouted at you today….I don't think you're a coward Booth. You've saved my life more times than I count. This case was just getting to me…."

Booth has turned to face her, his eyes are bright and the hope that he has for this conversation is showing through. Brennan remains oblivious. He takes her hand gently.

"It's ok Bones, I forgive you. There's something I wanted to tell you…."

"Ok, but let me go first. Think I have found a lead on the case, I was gonna call you but I thought it was too late. …Friday night, social holiday of the week..at least that's what Angela says…I don't really know what she means…but anyway, Hodgins reported two separate soil samples….the soils were too different to be coincidental, or at the site by accident."

Booth wipes his hand over his face and sighs…"Bones, the woman was recovered from a below a museum…is it not possible that perhaps the soil samples were from the building site when the museum was being constructed?"

Brennan chomps down happily on a slice of pizza and smiles triumphantly, "That's the great part, industrial soil and your average domestic soil are completely different, you just wouldn't find domestic soil on any construction site. It's not a viable building material…..The domestic soil was compost; this woman was buried in a garden before her body was buried under the museum. Her body was moved."

Booth frowns and picks up a slice of pizza, perhaps now wasn't the best time to start pouring out his heart to her. He starts to eat the slice slowly and she looks at him smiling waiting for a response. She punches his arm lightly and he smiles at her "Good work Bones. So now we find a list of missing persons from around the time that the museum was built?"

She nods and takes a swig of her beer. "If we can collate local missing persons. If someone is going to dig up a body that has been buried already they aren't going to want to transport it far. They have obviously seen an opportunity when the museum was under construction and if it hadn't been for the flooding the body would have lain there undiscovered. Or at least that was the intention." She smiles as he gives her a look of awe. "So what about you? What did you want to tell me?"

He steals the beer from her hand and takes a quick swig; she narrows her eyes at him making him grin, "Nothing Bones, I just wanted to tell you that you amaze me sometimes." She cocks her head to one side and snatches her beer back. He pushes himself up and leaves her apartment. Sitting back she smiles and takes another swig of her beer.


	3. Chapter 3

Brennan looks up from the body as Booth swipes his access card through the security system. He grins at her and waggles a thick paper file in her direction. She leans over the table and sighs "Please tell me that's not all the missing persons for the state?"

He smiles and hands the file to her. "There were 25 missing females between the ages of 20 and 28 years in the state around the time of the construction….all went missing from local areas, all unsolved." Her hand brushes his lightly as she takes the file from him, his eyes dart to the point of contact, however she doesn't seem to notice and is already flicking through the pages. Booth retracts his hand and shoves it into his pocket, Brennan flicks through the pages of the file and the closes it to look at him.

"I need to know when the wing of the museum that we recovered the body from was built. " He nods. "This is going to be hard to make an ID. The way in which the front of the skull has been crushed is making Angela's job nearly impossible. Without the teeth we can't even get dental matches……whoever did this never wanted this woman to be found. But why was hiding her identity so important?"

Booth purses his lips "Maybe the identification will lead us straight to the killer?" She nods at him slowly seemingly deep in thought. "I'll find out about the museum." She nods and starts to head up to the offices, he turns on his heel but spins back to her direction "Hey Bones?" She stops and looks at him patiently "Fancy grabbing something to eat with me tonight, maybe even a couple of drinks?"

She smiles gratefully. "Thanks for the offer Booth.."

He holds up his hand "Now if you are gonna blow me off for work…I don't think that.."

She shakes her head "No it's not that, it's just…well I have a date."

Booth physically jolts and he covers it up with a quick smile. "Oh, well good for you. I don't know if I will be back today. I'm probably gonna spend what's left of the weekend working on one of the cars….I'll leave you a voicemail when I find out about the museum."

"Um, ok. Have a nice weekend. Speak to you Monday." With that she turns around apparently engrossed in her file again. Booth pulls his keys from his pocket and twists them around in his fingers. He silently curses himself for being foolish enough to ask her to join him in the first place before turning around and leaving the lab. He had to get her out of his head, the fact that she was dating proved that she wasn't having the same feelings as him. He needed to find a diversion.

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Brennan and David walk slowly down the sidewalk, he slips his hand into hers and squeezes gently. She smiles shyly.

" Temperance? Can I ask you a question?"

She stops and turns to look at him, her hand still linked with his "Of course." He clears his throat quickly and smiles nervously.

"I just wondered where this is going?...I mean, we've been on half a dozen dates, and the furthest we've gotten is holding hands and the occasional kiss……Are we going anywhere? I mean, I just feel that you are holding back something."

Brennan nods and looks at their hands, he cocks his head to the side and meeting her eyes she lifts her head to look at him. He shrugs waiting for an answer. "David, I….. I'm not good at this, relationships. I find it too hard to open up to people."

He smiles "You don't find it hard to open up to Booth."

She looks at him defensively "David, that's different…Booth is…..well he's…"

"He's what Temperance? "

She drops his hand and crosses her arm, her brow knitted in confusion. David puts a hand on her arm and gives her a gentle squeeze.

"I don't want to be in a relationship with three people Temperance, only you. I know that as long as Booth is in your life, I can't have all of you. I don't think that I could settle for any less with you….So maybe tonight, when we say goodnight, we should say goodbye."

She tries to find the words to make him stay but she can't, he leans into her and touches his lips to hers gently. "Dr Temperance Brennan, it has been a pleasure knowing you….And as for Booth, don't keep him hanging on too long, he deserves to know where he stands…..Goodbye Temperance."

He lets her go and starts to walk away from her. Brennan hugs her arms around her torso and watches him walk away "Goodbye David"

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_So what are you guys thinking so far? I know that the storyline is dragging out but since it's the weekend in Bones world, I thought I would make the most of it. _


	4. Chapter 4

Booth stands at the bar in Wong's, Sid slides two glasses across the bar and gives him an awkward smile. Booth frowns as he is handing over money for the drinks."What is it Sid?...You've got that look on your face that my mother got whenever she didn't approve of something I did.."

Sid's eyes momentarily flit to the booth at the back of the room and then come back to settle on Booth. He holds his hand up and smiles "Ain't none of my business."

Booth nods and turns to stride over to the booth. Setting the drinks down on the table he slides in next to the slim, pretty blonde. He'd heard through a friend at work that she was interested and so he'd asked her out this evening. Brennan was obviously getting on with her life, he had to start doing the same. Sarah could prove to be a nice diversion from his over active imagination regarding his relationship with his partner. Looking at Sarah she smiles and takes a sip of her drink. "How about after these drinks we get out of here?" Sarah nods

"Okay, where do you want to go?"

Booth looks back over at the bar, Sid is leaning over it and has the same look on his face. Their eyes meet and Sid moves away to busy himself stocking the shelves. "Sarah, I don't mind where we go, the atmosphere in here just about died though." Sarah looks around to the bar and then back to Booth and smiles.

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Brennan holds her cell to her ear while fumbling in her purse for her keys. She takes them out and slides them into the lock. Closing the door behind her, she slips her shoes off and turns on the lamp next to her. Angela is on the other end rambling on about a date that she is on. Her interest is waning and her thoughts are drifting to a nice warm bath until Angela's next sentence, suddenly her attention is snapped back to the conversation.

"Booth is on a date?... He asked me if I wanted to grab dinner tonight……Blonde and leggy..sounds about right Ange……Yeah you too….I'll see you Monday."

Brennan places her cell on the lamp table and stares at it for a moment. Booth was on a date, she couldn't reason why she was adding that to the list of things that had gone wrong this evening. He was entitled to date whoever he wanted, she had no claim on him….but why did her stomach suddenly start churning at the thought? Maybe it was just all the drama from the evening. Sliding off her coat and leaving it on the floor she walks towards her bedroom. Perhaps it was just time for an early night.

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Angela stands in the entrance to Wong's. A cell phone in one hand, an attractive grungey-looking man attached to the other. Her face lights up when she sees Booth and a blonde walking towards her, the blonde's arm hooked through Booth's.

"Bren…You won't believe this….. Booth is on a date."

Booth stops dead in his tracks when his eyes meet Angela's, guilt passes over his features when he realizes who she is speaking to.

"Sweetie, she's in typical Booth style…long blonde hair, figure that Cameron Diaz would be jealous of…long, long, long legs… It's like sexy 2."

Booth gives Angela a look and she rolls her eyes. "Okay hun, I need to go… Take care…..Okay bye." Angela ends the call and slips the cell phone into her pocket before flashing a charming smile at Booth and his date. She holds her hand out to the young woman "Hi, my name is Angela."

Sarah looks at Booth looking for some sort of help and then shakes Angela's hand "Sarah"

Grabbing the girl's hand Angela drags her back towards the bar "You guys can't leave now, we just got here. Stay for a drink."

Booth shakes his head "Angela, probably not a good idea, I was just taking Sarah home." Sarah looks at him sharply and Angela raises an eyebrow.

"Booth you dog, your home or hers?"

"Hers."

Sarah looks disappointed for a moment and then smiles at Angela. "Seeley, one more drink couldn't do any harm."

Angela is surprised but smiles triumphantly all the same as they make their way back inside. On seeing them Sid groans inaudibly for Booth's sake. He liked the FBI agent and he was pretty sure that this was going to end in a mess.

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_Okay guys, stick with me I promise that I will get to the actual investigation, after all, the weekend is almost over in Bones world. _


	5. Chapter 5

Brennan is leaning over a computer screen with Zack and Hodgins flanking her from either side, she is pointing at something and they all squint to get a better look. "Zack, I need you to get the missing persons file to Angela, tell her I want her to eliminate who couldn't possibly be our victim….Jack, I want you to tell me as much as you can about the compost that we found on the body. I just think that we are missing something obvious, something that will make everything else make sense."

Jack chuckles "Story of your life Dr Brennan." She turns to look at him sharply and he immediately stops grinning. Zack hastily grabs the file from the table and leaves to find Angela.

"What did you mean by that Jack?"

"Nothing Dr Brennan, I'll get onto the soil samples right away." He leaves her to stare after him angrily.

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Angela walks into Brennan's office and flops onto the sofa. Brennan looks up from her laptop and pinches the bridge of her nose wearily. "I've narrowed it down to two possible victims, the shape of the skull form the markers that we were actually able to place have eliminated the others."

"Good work Angela."

Angela smiles and nods. "So, pretty illuminating weekend huh?"

Brennan stares at her "What do you mean?"

Getting up from the sofa and sitting at the chair in front of Brennan's desk she places her head in her hands. "Well, you and David ending, Booth and Blondie… It was all very interesting."

"Angela your concept of interesting confuses me. Relationships end and begin all of the time. I mean look at you for example, you always find dates."

Angela chuckles "Sweetie, if I didn't know about your lack of eloquence I might just be offended. … Bren sweetie, you should have seen his face when I told him that you and David had just called things off. I could see that he just wanted to dump that girl with us and come see you, he loves you."

Brennan shakes her head "Angela, he didn't just dump the girl to come see me, and mostly because he doesn't love me…. Your obsession with my relationship with Booth however is starting to worry me… You need to let this go, I don't have feelings for Booth."

Angela reaches across and squeezes Brennan's hand. "I know that you find it hard to trust Tempe, I know that you are very literal and don't believe in the whole love and soul mate thing.. But would it be such a bad thing? To let someone care for you? To need someone once in a while."

Brennan draws her hand back, a maelstrom of emotions passing over her features before her mask slips back into place "Anthropologically speaking Angela, one might invent such an idea to be socially acceptable and not only have a desire for physical gratification…. Love lasts only as long as physical satisfaction does."

Angela rolls her eyes and sighs "If that were true Bren, if you weren't interested in Booth, as interested as he is in you, then you would have hopped into his bed long before now. If it's all about physical gratification as you call it…then why haven't you been involved with him yet?"

Brennan is lost for words she tries to speak but can't formulate a sentence, Angela gets up from her chair and drops the file onto the desk "I'll tell you why Bren, maybe, just maybe your rational little head can't reationalise and categorise what it is that you feel for him, yeah, there's lust and I am pretty sure you wonder what it would be like to have that quick fling, but beyond that…there's something more… I'll even go so far as to bet that it's something you have never felt before. Love Bren. That's what that is."

Angela turns and leaves Brennan at her desk, staring at a file and not really seeing anything, her attention is caught when she hears a shuffling at the office door. Looking up she sees Booth leaning against the jamb, his usual grin is vacant. "Angela called me, said there was something important you needed to show me…"

His words hang in the air and he is oblivious to their double meaning. She stands up and grabs the file and her jacket from the back of the chair. "Yeah, we have narrowed the victims down to 2." She hands him the file and he steps aside letting her lead the way to the car.

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The drive in the car had been silent and standing at the door of their first potential victim Booth was starting to regret that they hadn't cleared the air first. An elderly woman opens the door to them and Booth pulls out his badge.

"I'm special agent Booth with the FBI Mrs Thomson, this is Dr Brennan. Could we perhaps come in and speak with you?"

The woman nods her assent and they walk in.

Sitting in the main room a few minutes later Booth removes a picture of Mandy Thomson from the file. He hands it to Mrs Thomson who tears up as she fingers her lost daughter's face. "She was my miracle baby, I fell pregnant when I was 41, doctors told me that she could be brain damaged if I went ahead with the birth, I so wanted her though…and then she was just perfect, she was my best friend."

Brennan looks at Booth from the corner of her eye. She looks back at her hands when he speaks. "I want to find out if we have found your daughter, but I need as much information as possible to open an investigation, there is a 50 chance that the person that we found is Mandy and I hate coming forward with anything less than 100 but in this case we need the facts to find the truth."

The woman looks at Brennan "She must be pretty badly beaten up if you can't find out who she is?"

Brennan looks at the woman with heartfelt sympathy. "I will identify the girl that we found, and I will find out what happened, if this is Mandy, you'll be able to put her to rest properly."

The woman takes Brennan's hand in her own and squeezes gently. "I know you will."

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Back in the car Booth looks over at Brennan who is quietly staring out of the window "Wanna go grab a bite to eat?"

She shakes her head "No, thanks." She looks over at him "Why don't you ask out your date again?"

Booth's grip on the steering wheel tightens slightly "I won't be asking Sarah out again." He turns his eyes to look at her reaction, but as always her emotions are impeccably intact. She manages to utter a simple "Oh." As he is pulling into the Jeffersonian "We just didn't click Bones, you can't create magic, it's either there, or it's not… " As she is about to get out of the SUV he grabs her hand forcing her to look at him "I was sorry to hear about you and David… He doesn't realize what it is that he is giving up."

She wants to cal him up on his false sympathy but with Angela's words still assaulting her she decides it is better to leave it. She nods mutely and gets out of the car, before she closes the door he leans across the passenger side "If you change your mind about a drink or dinner let me know, I won't be up to much."

She closes the door and makes her way inside.

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	6. Chapter 6

Jack taps on Brennan's door lightly, she lifts her eyes form the computer screen in front of her and gives him a tired sigh. Sitting down in front of her he casts a concerned glance over her face. "Are you ok Dr Brennan?" She nods and smiles gently waiting for his findings. He clears his throat knowing that the moment of personal concern has passed and she is back in full business mode. "The compost that we found, I found traces of Peacock Flower… It's a rare flower that is only found grown in South Africa. I did a bit of research and found a gardening centre that specializes in exotic flowers, in fact it's the only centre that sells the flower in this state… It would take a lot of work to keep a flower like that alive in this kind of environment, so I would say that it would take an experienced gardener."

Brennan smiles at him gratefully, he slides a folder onto her desk and flicking it open she sees a picture of the flower in question. "Thanks Jack." She closes the file and Jack gets up to leave.

"You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He nods and exits the office.

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Booth holds his cell to his ear as he climbs into the SUV, he buckles up and starts the engine. "Bones, where have you been, I've been trying to call you for the past hour?...Ok, it doesn't matter…I have just been to the gardening centre, in the past 2 years there have been 43 orders for Peacock Flower seeds, I got the guy to give me a list of those who ordered and how often they had placed orders with the centre. If the guy is an experienced gardener then it's more likely that they will have placed continuous orders rather than a one off order…. 4 of the customers live within a 8 mile radius of our museum. I'm on my way over to pick you up right now………. What do you mean you can't come?" He runs his hand over the steering wheel. "Can't that wait?...Fine, whatever."

He throws the phone down onto the passenger seat and lets out a long sigh. He doesn't know why she is being so difficult with him lately. He is starting to think that it may be more than the case, in the last couple of days they have made progress, they were so close to identifying the body of the woman under the museum, and yet she seemed to be distancing herself more form him. He didn't want to believe that the breakup with David had affected her this deeply, but whatever it was he was going to find out, and he was going to do it tonight. He pulls out of the parking lot with a determined expression.

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Brennan stares at the phone in front of her, she is lost in thought and misses Angela walking into the room. "Bren? You ok?" Her head snaps up and she forces a smile at her best friend.

"Yeah of course, it looks as though this case has finally started to pick up. Booth has gone to interrogate some potential suspects."

Angela flops onto the sofa and props her feet up on the coffee table in front of her "Don't you normally go along for that? I mean it's usually you and Booth out in the field at this point."

Brennan pretends to look at the pc screen in front of her and nods. "Usually, this time we are trying something a little different, he doesn't really need me out there. He usually tells me that I say the wrong things.. I have some things that I can check out from here."

Angela gets up and closes the office door, she comes to stand in front of her friend and takes her hand. "You're scared aren't you? You've been thinking about what I said and you are scared." Brennan looks up and her expression confirms all that Angela needs to know. Brennan's eyes are wide and confused, a mist passes over them. "Look, it's after five, how about you and I go grab some food and drinks and have a chat? It's time to get this all out into the open before you think yourself to death. If you talk to someone about it then it might seem easier to deal with." Brennan wants to protest but something inside her seems to have been broken down and she nods wearily. Angela gives her hand a squeeze and lets go, getting up and switching off the pc monitor Brennan follows her friend out of the office. "So sweetie, pizza or Chinese?"

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4 hours later

Booth sits outside of Brennan's apartment building waiting for her to return home. He's been to the Jeffersonian and she had left work, on time for that matter. He's called her cell numerous times only to be directed to her voicemail, he knows that he has to get this sorted out tonight before their partnership deteriorates any further. Sighing he looks up at her apartment windows one more time before turning his attention back to the notes that he had taken from the interviews today.

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Angela slides back into the booth next to Brennan and takes a long drink of her Long Vodka. Brennan is fiddling with her drink, Angela takes her hand and places it on the table. "Okay Bren, it's time to talk. You ready to come to terms with whatever it is that you feel for our favourite FBI agent yet?"

Brennan looks at Angela and then back at her hand on the table. "I don't know Ange. I don't seem to know much these days. One minute I want to shoot him and the next… I just don't know. You're right, he is attractive, I can understand why any woman would be attracted to him physically, and so I understand what it is that I am attracted to.. But…" She stares at her hand, her forehead knitted in a frown.

"What is it sweetie?"

Brennan looks up at her, Angela's face falls as she notes the unshed tears in her friend's eyes. "I don't know what this is that I am feeling, it's irrational… I never thought about it until you spoke to me yesterday, I was angry at you for being so presumptuous… Then when I thought about his date…"

She shrugs and Angela smiles "You got super jealous?" Angela rubs Brennan's arm "She had nothing on you sweetie, I knew it and so did Booth. So you admit that you are in love with him?"

Brennan looks at her and lets out a deep sigh "I don't know what it is… I've never been in love, enamoured, yes… in lust, yes… you were right, I can't categorise what I am feeling, and I don't know how I would be able to find out what this is. It's no use Angela, I need to just work past this. I've been dealing with difficult situations my whole life, I can deal with this." Angela slumps back in the booth and takes a long drink from her glass.

"Bren sweetie, there is only one way to find out for sure how you feel… You need to kiss the sweet bejesus out of that man. You'll know… He'll know… Then it's just up to you to let him in. Everyone needs to fall in love once in a lifetime Tempe. You can't keep running from commitment, not everyone is going to leave you… Least of all him, give him a chance to show you."

Brennan picks up her glass and takes a long drink, she smiles slowly at Angela making her smile back in turn "That's my girl!...Now crisis out of the way…Shots?" Brennan groans and Angela lifts her hand to summon over a waitress with a triumphant smile plastered across her features.


	7. Chapter 7

Brennan gets out of her cab and watches it drive away. She closes her eyes and then opens them again, somehow hoping that the disorientation might magically disappear. Recognizing the door to her building she heads towards it. As she is reaching the main entrance she can hear her name being called, the voice sounds distant and muffled but distinctly like that of a certain FBI agent. Turning towards the sound she sees Booth walking towards her.

"Bones. Wait up." She groans. When did she start considering that Bones was actually her name? Pulling her keys from her pocket she starts to unlock her door. "Where have you been…actually never mind answering that, I can smell where you have been… I've been waiting for hours."

"Did we have an appointment?" He looks hurt momentarily by her response and lowers his eyes. "Look Booth, I don't complain when you are out on dates, I don't show up at your apartment and wait for hours for you to come home…. Why are you here?" The irritation in her voice is coming through and his anger is rising. "Come on Booth, what is it…upset that I went out with Angela?"

"I thought you would want to know how my interrogations went today. You know that case that we are working on, the body of the unidentified woman who is lying in the lab.. Do you even care?"

Brennan looks up at him sharply. "That's right Booth, why would I care? I mean that's me isn't it… unfeeling, uncaring…. Workaholic. I mean what more could I possibly want out of life? Except to run around after you, identifying the bodies that you bring for me… My office hours are between 9 and 5 agent Booth. If you want to carry on any discussions about the case, I suggest you call my lab between those hours."

Booth looks taken aback, the anger returns to his eyes. "You make a lousy drunk Bones." With that he turns on his heel and leaves her. She is too stubborn to call after him even though she is immediately sorry for the loss of his presence. She pushes the door open and runs up to her apartment. Once inside the door she closes it and leans against it. The alcohol is making her head swim and she can almost measure how sorry she will be in the morning for allowing Angela to talk her into the Tequilas.

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Booth stalks back to his SUV and climbs inside. He leans his head back against the headrest and takes deep soothing breaths. He can't believe that he let her get him so worked up, the stench of alcohol had angered him, and her words had cut through him. 'Agent Booth'… what had he done to deserve that.?Looking up he sees her lights flicker on. He hadn't managed to sort out whatever the problem was between them, that was the whole reason why he had shown up in the first place and he'd only gone and made it worse. She was right; he shouldn't have sat here for hours waiting for her like some over controlling boyfriend. He closes his eyes then goes to insert the keys into the starter engine, pulling his hand back slowly he takes a glance up at her window again.

"Damn you Bones, we're gonna get this sorted out one way or another."

With that he jumps out of the SUV and heads back to her building fully prepared for round two.

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Brennan has managed to change into a camisole and pair of men's pyjamas when she hears the knock at her door. Holding onto the frame of her bedroom door she contemplates answering.

"Come on Bones, don't make me use my lock pick." She rolls her eyes and turns off the lights. Going through to her bedroom she crawls under the covers and closes her eyes. Hearing another knock she sighs and turns away from the door. Her head feels heavy and sleep is threatening to carry her away. She feels his presence in her room but chooses to ignore it until she feels the dip of the bed under his weight. "Ok Bones, you can ignore me. But I don't want us to end up hating one another. If this is about David, then that's fine. Just talk to me. I'm here for you." She opens her eyes to stare into darkness as he speaks to her. "I can't work like this, with us not being honest. Not something I thought I would ever have to bring up with you, you are usually the epitome of truth. And I love that about you Bones. Lately I just don't know where I stand with you. If you want me to find another partner or have someone else assigned to work with you, then I will. I just, I guess that I thought we were friends."

She turns over to look at him, the outline of his face illuminated by the moonlight escaping through her closed blinds. "We are friends." She can see him smile gently at that, his head ducks slightly.

"Then what is this Bones, what is this sudden tension between us? I can't understand where it has suddenly appeared from. I thought it was the case, but now I understand that it has to be something more than that… it's affecting our work, and to be honest I never would ever expect you to allow something to get in the way of that. I don't think you're without feeling Bones. I know that you feel more than you can communicate to people around you, but I want you to know that I think of this as a partnership… an equal partnership."

She slowly sits up to face him and touches his arm, he looks at her hand on his arm and takes it into his hand, his fingers run over her perfect fingers and he feels a gentle tremor run through her. He looks up to meet her eyes, they are wide and she looks afraid of him. "Can you be honest with me?" She nods mutely. "What happened with David?" Her eyes drop to their hands, he has managed to thread his fingers with her own, she marvels at how tiny her hand looks in his.

"He called it off…. Said he didn't want to be in a relationship with 2 other people. He said he'd never be able to compete with you for my attention."

Booth swallows hard, his mouth suddenly dry "Did you try and correct him?" He eyes drop back to their hands and she shakes her head slowly. His confidence soars momentarily as he reaches out and cups her cheek, with the alcohol still in her system her head lolls towards his touch. "Why didn't you correct him Temperance?" Her eyes snap open and she is met by his gaze. The words once again won't come to her, his hand is warm against hers and she is afraid that he will feel the pulse coursing through her, afraid that he will see the unshed tears in her eyes. She draws her hand back from his and drops her eyes again. The fear is like another presence in the room. Booth moves closer to her and drops his head to catch her gaze, meeting it once more he smiles gently, patiently. "Temperance, if I am wrong… then please let me know." Suddenly his lips are inches from her own, his hand at the back of her head and her responses seem slower in this one moment, her eyes flutter closed in anticipation and then just as she can feel his breath on her lips they shoot open and she pushes him back again.

"I'm sorry Booth, I can't do this with you…. I can't…I'm sorry." He nods sadly and gets up from the bed letting out a sigh. Running his hand through his hair he lets out another shuddery breath.

"Bones, do you have any idea? Can you even begin to imagine?... I'm sorry. I'm out of line. It's late. I should be going."

Before she has time to stop him he is out of the apartment leaving her completely confused and full of regret. Why was the love thing so complicated, why is she too scared to let him get close?


	8. Chapter 8

Booth flops down onto the sofa, he lays an arm haphazardly across his face. The events that had just transpired run through his mind for the hundredth time since he left her apartment. She didn't want him, he'd been wrong, she just had been too naïve to see that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, she'd been too sympathetic to tell him he was wrong. He groans aloud and curses at his own stupidity. He was certain that he could never deserve a woman like Temperance Brennan, and now he could spend every day being reminded of that fact. He'd mistaken the tremor in her hand when he held it in his for desire, the unshed tears in her eyes as relief that they had finally reached this point. Now he realizes that she was simply afraid of turning him down. Placing his arms on his stomach he closes his eyes and prepares for what he fears will be a restless night.

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Brennan looks up from the microscope and smiles gingerly at Zack. Oblivious to her hangover he goes into full on report mode.

"I have checked and double checked the remains. There is no clear cause of death. No broken bones, head trauma or obvious damage. I did however find out that the victim had broken her collar bone at some point. However the broken collar bone was not related to the cause of death, I would say that she was around 15 when it happened. "

Brennan nods and picks up the files lying next to them on the workbench, flicking through them she discards one and points to an x-ray in the other.

"Great work Zack, we've identified our victim…. It is Mandy Thomson. Her X-rays show that she has a fracture on her collar bone, she broke it after falling from a bike…" Zack beams with pride and she hands him the file "Notify Booth that we have made the identification, he will want to inform Ms Thomson." She starts to walk away and Zack looks confused at the file in front of him. He holds it up in the air.

"Dr Brennan, you normally tell Agent Both about these things. Don't you want me to carry on working on restructuring the skull?"

Brennan stops in her tracks but doesn't turn to look back at him, "Please Zack, just do it." He lowers his hand and looks at the file. Brennan carries on walking to her office. As she is approaching Angela appears at her side with a bundle of files. Brennan stops in her tracks and Angela dumps the files in her hands.

"What's this?" Angela crosses her arms and shrugs.

"How am I supposed to know? Booth came into the lobby and I bumped into him, said something about great timing and then loaded my arms up with these, told me that I should give them to you. Something about people that he interviewed yesterday… By the sour look on his face, I'm guessing you didn't get to talk."

Brennan turns and walks into the office, Angela follows behind her "Sweetie?" Dumping the files onto her desk she turns and leans against it folding her arms.

"I spoke to him." Angela gestures for her to continue "I couldn't do it… He was waiting for me when I got home, we argued and then he asked me about David. Wanted to know what happened between us. He tried to kiss me and I couldn't."

Angela walks forward and wraps her arms around her friend "Oh Bren, you froze. This isn't going to be easy, opening up for the first time is hard."

"How would you know, you are the most open person I know. I envy you."

Angela steps back to look her friend in the face 'What happened next? Did you try and talk it over? Did he tell you he loves you?" Brennan shakes her head. "You need to speak to him Bren, sooner rather than later." Brennan nods and Angela wraps her arms around her again. Just then they hear a cough from the doorway, turning to face it they encounter a smiling Jack.

"As much as I hate to be the one to break this kind of encounter up, I was wondering if you have the reports that Booth was gonna drop off, I need to look at the gardening orders that were placed. Try and get a definitive list of suspects."

Brennan points to the files on the desk and Jack gathers them up, he gives them another wide appreciative smile and Angela steps back from Brennan before slapping the back of Jack's head.

"Ow, what was that for?" He saunters out of the office with Angela at his heels.

"You know fine well what it was for." Leaning back into the office Angela smiles at Brennan "Might I suggest that now be a good time to talk to him?"

"I can't" Angela opens her mouth to lecture her friend "No I mean I actually can't, he's informing the victim's family of the positive identification." Brennan shrugs

"Then tonight Bren, either you tell him or I do." Angela glides out of the doorway leaving Brennan with her thoughts. She lets out a sigh and makes her way around her desk to slump into the chair.

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Booth lets himself out of the Thomson residence. He stands on the door step and lets out a deep breath, he hates breaking this news to families, but this was especially hard, this woman had no one to comfort her. He had stayed longer than he usually would, the sun had started to set and he had suggested that Ms Thomson get some rest, he'd promised her that he would find out who had done this to her little girl, a promise he intended to keep.

His cell starts to ring and he pulls it out of his pocket as he is making his way to the SUV, the caller ID tells him that it is Brennan calling him. His pride is still reeling from her rejection the night before, he contemplates answering for a second but then changes his mind and pockets the phone instead. He decides that tonight he should stay unreachable. He didn't want to have a rerun of last night, him pouring his heart out, her looking at him with pity in her eyes. The same pity that he had mistaken for something else. No, tonight was the first night of getting over Bones.

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Brennan puts her phone back into the cradle and walks into her kitchen, she'd tried Booth on numerous occasions but he had been unreachable. She couldn't bear the suspense any longer so she grabs her jacket from the corner of the sofa and her keys from the table.

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Booth turns the corner to his apartment, a carton of takeaway in one hand, his keys in the other. As he approaches he catches sight of a person rising up from sitting position on the floor. It's Brennan, she looks at him nervously. He drops his head and chuckles sardonically.

"I'm fine, go home Bones." She shakes her head as she steps aside for him to open the door to his apartment. "I'm not really in the mood for company tonight…. Like I said, I'm fine."

"What if I'm not fine?" Looking at her, even through his anger he can see the vulnerability in her eyes. He sighs and nods for her to walk in ahead of him. She enters the apartment and hugs her coat around herself. He closes the door and puts the carton of food down on the sideboard, he doesn't go to turn on the light and she is grateful.

"What is this about Bones?"

She turns toward him unexpectedly and connects her lips to his. He is too stunned to respond to her sudden attack. Feeling his lack of participation the fear kicks in again and she makes a move to pull away ashamed, but his hand stops her pulling her closer to him by the lapel of her coat. His lips connect to hers and his free hand finds its way into her hair. Despite the emotion of the moment, the kiss is gentle but thorough, every nerve in her body is thrumming in time with his pulse and the motion of his fingers against her neck is setting her skin on fire. It wasn't until this moment that she realized that she had never been kissed this way, and she planned on taking Angela's advice to kiss the bejesus out of him tonight, for starters anyway.


	9. Chapter 9

Booth pulls back and rests his forehead against hers, he runs the back of his hand over her cheek and she smiles slowly in response. "Bones, bones, bones…. That was..well, that was… incredible." She smiles shyly and he lifts his head back to look into her eyes. The emotions that are present in the depths of them takes his breath away. "Why did you come here?" She looks up into his eyes and the vulnerability has returned, even in the darkness he can see it. She goes to speak but seeing her turmoil he puts a hand on her shoulder "It's ok, you can tell me when you are ready." She reaches for him again and they meet in a hungry and passionate kiss, her hands start to fumble for his shirt and he places his hands atop hers gently, stopping her attempt. Pulling back once more he shakes his head. Her eyes swim with confusion, quickly followed by disappointment and he gives her an apologetic smile.

"Don't for one second think that I don't want you right now… I just don't want this to happen like _this_." He gestures around them with his hand. "Bones, I'm in love with you." Tears appear in her eyes as she takes in his confession. "I want to do this right, I want to take you out on a date, dinner and a movie… I want to walk you home, give you a kiss goodnight and ask you out again… Hopefully you'll accept." She punches his arm lightly with a grin. "And then when you are ready, ready to tell me the reason that you came here tonight, that's when I want to be with you. When there is nothing holding us back, when you are sure of what you want." He runs his fingers through her hair.

Brennan nods in understanding and Booth gives her a cocky grin. "Listen, why don't you have the takeaway food and relax on the sofa, that big black box is called a TV… moving pictures, you can watch it if you like."

"I know what a TV looks like, Booth. Where are you going?"

He places a quick kiss on her forehead before heading to his bedroom, tossing a glance over his shoulder he points towards the doorway "For a cold shower… You have no idea Bones, no idea at all."

She looks confused for a second "About what?" He disappears without answering and she grabs the takeaway from the side table. Switching on the lamp she touches her lips gently and looks to the bedroom door before smiling.

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Brennan unlocks her apartment door and steps inside, she frowns when she realizes that the lights are on. A noise from the bathroom causes her to start. "Bren sweetie, is that you?" Brennan rolls her eyes and throws her keys onto the table. Angela appears in front of her with her arms crossed.

"How is it that everyone is able to get into my apartment when I'm not here?" Angela reaches into her pocket and pulls out her keys.

"You gave me a set… Where have you been, I've been calling you for hours." Brennan sweeps past Angela and flops onto the sofa. "Oh my, I know this face… You've done the dirty.. With Booth?"

"I did not sleep with Booth." Brennan looks up at Angela defiantly. Angela flops down next to her and smiles conspiratorially.

"Then with who sweetie? Was it hot and steamy? Tell Angela all." Brennan smiles to herself dreamily and then looks at Angela. Angela's eyes widen "You told him!" Brennan shakes her head slowly.

"I couldn't tell him, I kissed him."

"Yeah? And then what?"

"Nothing. We watched TV."

Angela sighs in frustration. "Come on Bren, I share all my dirty secrets with you. What did you do in between eating and watching TV? Was he good, was it like an Emmanuelle novel?"

"No I mean it, we kissed… Angela I have never been kissed like that before. I could feel it in my toes… He wants to take things slow, said he wanted to do things properly. Take me out for dinner and a movie"

"Properly?"

"Yeah, he wants to date, and then when I am ready to tell him why I went over tonight, that's when we'll,… y'know?"

Angela sinks into the sofa and smiles triumphantly. "You know Bren, we could share… I mean you could have him the majority of the week, I'd just settle for a Friday night and Sunday afternoon… Did he tell you he loves you?" Brennan nods at her smiling. Angela reaches across and pulls Brennan into a hug. "I'm happy for you. You just need to overcome your fear and let him in."

"Thanks Angela."

"For what?"

"For threatening to tell him if I didn't." Angela gives her a quick squeeze and gets up. "See ya." Angela nods and leaves.

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_I just had to tie this up a little bit, didn't want you all thinking that there was gonna be some x-rated loving this early in the investigation. There's still a homicide to be solved. ;)_

_Oh and thanks for all the great reviews. You guys are spurring me on. _


	10. Chapter 10

Booth walks up to the Jeffersonian main entrance, he stops to check out his reflection in the window and straightens his tie before smiling and hurriedly walking inside. On reaching the 'Squint' domain he scans his eyes across the lab for any signs of Brennan, he spots her up on the platform, as usual she's leaning over a table staring at something through an oversized magnifying glass. She straightens and writes something down in a clipboard, he smiles gently to himself as he watches her contentedly. His voyeurism is interrupted by Angela appearing from behind him. She whispers into his ear. "You know in some cultures it would be considered rude to stare, in other cultures, one might even suggest that you just go up and say hey."

Booth turns to look at her with a guilty expression. His face reddened at being caught. She squeezes his arm gently. "She..uh..did she?"

"Tell me? Yes… Not before time Booth, I was losing faith in you." She smiles and looks up to Brennan. "Bren sweetie?... Are you expecting Booth today?" Booth glares at her and she smiles deviously.

With her back still turned to them she is oblivious to Booth's presence. Brennan shakes her head. "No, and to be honest I will be quite happy if he doesn't show up…." Booth looks hurt and Angela confused. "I don't think I would be able to concentrate if he did." At that Brennan turns and is embarrassed to see Booth and Angela grinning at her like idiots from the bottom of the stairs.

Angela chuckles and shakes her head. "That must have been embarrassing… I'll leave you to it." Angela turns and walks toward the offices chuckling to herself. Brennan clears her throat and runs a hand consciously over her hair. Booth bounds up to the platform and swipes his card through. Stopping in front of her he smiles. "Hey." She smiles back at him, their eyes locked. "So you got anything new for me?"

Brennan nods and is suddenly thrown back into professional mode. She walks back to the table and he follows closely, pointing at the notes that she has left on them she turns to him with that illuminating smile that she gets each time she is fascinated. "Zack ran some tests on the flesh that we could. He found strain injuries, so I told him to compare them to any medical records. He found out that when she was 8 she was diagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy, it's a rare genetic disease. It's a disease that breaks down the muscle making it weak. I had Zack check Ms Thomson's records… it didn't come from her mother."

Booth looks confused. "So what? It obviously came from her father." Brennan smiles and holds up another file. "What's that?"

"When we were at the house interviewing Ms Thomson, I distinctly remember there not being any pictures of her father. No family pictures. Mandy was searching for her father."

Booth leans against the table and nods. "Why wouldn't her mother mention that?... She couldn't have known… Bones, I commend you investigative skills. I'll have Mandy Thomson's PC hard drive scoured, if you wanna find someone, the net always seems the best place to start. I just wanna see what she found."

Brennan smiles triumphantly at him. He picks up the files from the table and waggles it at her. "I'll pick you up at 7?" She nods and he smiles shyly before leaving her to her thoughts. When Booth leaves she turns on her heel and stares up at the balcony to see Hodgins, Zack and Angela hanging over with grins on their faces. "Don't you guys have work to be getting on with? Zack?"

"Sorry Dr Brennan."

Turning away from them she smiles dreamily.

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Booth and Brenna walk down the street towards her apartment building, it's dark outside and the streets are empty, as they walk close to one another their hands brush against each other a couple of times, Booth grasps her hand in his and interlinks his fingers with her own. She looks down at them and then back at up at Booth who gives her a shy smile.

"Have your labs come back to you with information about Mandy's hard drive yet?" Booth stops and places a finger against her lips gently. He shakes his head.

"This Bones, is a date… No shop talk allowed." He removes his finger from her lips instead choosing to curl it under her chin, her eyes meet his and he lowers his lips to place a tender kiss on her lips. She sighs when he pulls back from her and they resume walking to her apartment.

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Bones opens the door to her apartment and takes a step inside, Booth gently grabs her arm and pulls her back to the door threshold. "This is where I say goodnight." She looks confused.

"You don't wanna come in?" He shakes his head.

"Best if I don't… This was nice Bones, relaxing, laughing.. And I'd really like to take you out again." Brennan smiles as she realizes the game that he is playing. Booth leans forward and their lips meet again in a longer version of their earlier kiss. When he pulls back this time he runs the back of his hand down the side of her face and winks. "Goodnight Temperance."

"Goodnight Booth."

She watches him walk down the corridor for a few moments before she herself goes inside. Once inside she touches her fingers to her lips and smiles gently. Her stomach churned in anticipation of their next date, and something important that she would leave til then to tell him.

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_Aww, they went on a date. I didn't want to show the date… every time I tried to write it they just ended up leaving the restaurant and hopping under the covers… It wasn't my fault, they have a mind of their own. This was the only way to control them ;)_


	11. Chapter 11

Booth had climbed into a cold shower the night before and let the waves of water calm his excited senses. Being that close to Brennan for an entire evening had put his nerves into overdrive. This morning he was just as eager to be by her side and he lost no time in making the short distance from his car in the parking lot to her side in the lab.

She was looking over lab results with Zack, Hodgins was stood at their side snapping his elastic band. Booth gave him a wary look before meeting Brennan's full on smile. He winks at her and takes the file from her hand. "What we got that has Hodgins so worked up?" Brennan look over her shoulder at Hodgins and then back at Booth.

"I don't know what's wrong with him." She shrugs and Zack looks at them seriously and shakes his head.

"Angela has a date tonight." Booth makes an O shape with his mouth and nods.

"Gotcha… I'm surprised that they haven't hooked up to be honest, he seems to have no problem enthralling the women of DC with bugs and dirt…and Angela, well…what can I say about Angela?" He gives Zack a sly smile and waggles his eyebrows, Zack rolls his eyes and turns to look back at his monitor. Booth looks down at a non impressed Brennan and immediately stops smiling. "Sorry." He turns his attention back to the file. "So, what did you find?" Brennan starts to walk towards her office with Booth in tow.

"She found her father, Malcolm Warner… he's on your list of suspects from the garden centre. I need his medical records to do a DNA match.. Once I have that, all we need to do is work out why, and why her mother never told her who her father was."

Booth nods and looks up from the file as they reach her office door. "We should get on with the interrogation then. This has been a slow case and I'd like to get this one wrapped up as soon as possible. Lay this girl to rest." She nods and takes the file from him before grabbing her coat from the sofa.

"Then let's go."

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Malcolm Warner is a frail looking man, his hand trembles as he lifts his glass to take a sip. Brennan looks at her hands and then to Booth out of the corner of her eye. Booth sits with his hands folded in his lap. She can tell that he is making an assessment of Mr Warner and she is pretty sure that his conclusions can't be that far from her own. There is no way that this man could kill someone let alone bury them and then dig them up again.

"She just turned up on my doorstep one night, I told her that I didn't know her mother but she was convinced that I am her father. I'm not sure how I can be of any help in your investigation."

Booth looks up from his lap with a confused look across his features "You don't seem overly upset on hearing about the death of your child." Mr Warner looks to Booth and shrugs.

"I didn't know her. I have a family of my own, and for her to show up out of the blue.. I wasn't sure how to deal with that. It was never even proved that she was my daughter." Booth gets up and walks over to the window and stares outside.

"How did you deal with it Mr Warner?"

"I didn't kill her if that's what you are insinuating Agent Booth… After she left that night she came around once more, I never saw her again after that though."

Brennan looks up at Booth who is still staring out of the window. "You have a beautiful garden. You got green fingers Mr Warner?"

Mr Warner looks at Brennan and smiles warmly, "My daughter, she comes and does my gardening, I can't do much of anything these days. Doctors orders."

Brennan looks to Booth and then back to Mr Warner. "I noticed that you have Peacock flower in your garden, one of my favourites."

He smiles openly and nods, "Yes, mine too. I tend to them every day, they never seem to last long though and my daughter needs to keep replanting." He laughs lightly.

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Booth pulls into the Jeffersonian car park and shuts off the engine. Brennan looks across at him. "You know he couldn't have killed her right?" Booth nods. "He could hardly lift that glass, in fact, I'm surprised he's even alive. Usually with his type of disorder, people don't tend to live past middle age. "

Booth stretches his arms out in front of him and nods, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You think he could have arranged for someone to kill her.. He didn't seem all that bothered that his daughter was murdered."

"What if the daughter that does the gardening had something to do with it, she'd have access to the garden, the planting."

Booth runs a hand over the back of his neck and nods. "We'd need to prove that his garden was where she was buried first off, then we could move forward. I'd like to talk to Mrs Thomson again about the reasons she never told Mandy who her father was, or the fact that he lived across town from her."

Brennan reaches into her pocket and pulls out an evidence bag with soil in it. "I swiped some on the way out." Booth smiles widely and nods.

"That's my girl."

Brennan unbuckles and starts to climb out of the SUV. "I'll get these to Jack and have it analysed, he should be able to tell us in the next couple of hours whether or not this soil matches the soil sample we pulled from the body." As she is twisting her body out of the vehicle Booth reaches across the space dividing them and takes her hand gently in his own. She looks up at him and they share a smile, his eyes search hers slowly before he gives her a gentle squeeze and lets her hand go.

"We still ok for tonight?"

"Yes, we're ok for tonight."

"I'll pick you up at eight."

She gives him one more smile and closes the door making her way into the building. Booth watches her disappear in the rear view mirror before starting up his engine and pulling away. "Bones, you got me."

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	12. Chapter 12

Booth had seemed distracted at dinner but when she had asked him he'd shrugged it off as shop talk and having no place in their evening. She'd let it go but she could see that it was still taking its toll on his mood. Now here they were outside of her apartment door again and facing the same nervous goodnight as the night before, this time however she had plans of her own.

"You wanna come in and have a coffee?" The expression on her face appears innocent and innuendo free. Booth looks at her and then at the elevator at the end of her hallway as if torn in his decision. Brennan follows his gaze to the elevator and her face falls momentarily in disappointment. "Hey, it's ok. If you wanna just go, I understand." Booth nods and places a quick peck on her cheek.

"Goodnight Bones." With that he heads down the hall and she quickly turns into her apartment. Closing the door and turning on the small table lamp she throws her keys down. She is confused and her stomach churns anxiously. What had happened? He'd been so keen, now it seemed that he couldn't wait to escape her company. She tries to think back to this evening, had she missed something? He hadn't tried to take her hand, accidentally brush his leg against hers… It was almost as if he had been somewhere else this evening. She walks into the bedroom and strips off her shirt and trousers, suddenly she is grateful that she had kept her secret to herself. Somewhere along the way she had misread his intentions and maybe he had misunderstood his feelings. She pulls a tee over her head and slides under her covers. This thing between them could never work, she was constantly second guessing herself and trying so hard to put these feelings into order, perhaps they were better locked away in that box at the back of her head. She had plenty of time to deal with them later.

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Booth takes a sip of his beer and rubs a hand over his tired features. He's wired and his mind is in over drive. He hadn't missed the look of disappointment on her face this evening, but at the same time he wanted to be able to give her his full attention. He is pretty sure that he has hurt her feelings and he mentally curses himself for being so insensitive. This case is keeping them apart again and he wants nothing more than to just wrap it up so that he can go on living his life… living their lives. Looking at the beer left in his bottle he decides that he hasn't had so much that he can't drive and he places it on the table and gets up grabbing his keys off the table in the same instant.

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Booth walks towards Brennan's building pocketing his car keys, as he goes to cross the street he sees a familiar figure entering her apartment complex, David. His face crumples in confusion and he looks up to her window. After a few minutes a light in her bedroom goes on. Booth looks down at his feet and shakes his head angrily before turning to retreat back to his vehicle.

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Brennan opens her door and smiles softly at David. He smiles apologetically and enters at her gesture.

"I'm sorry Tempe.. I completely forgot about the presentation tomorrow." He follows her to the table and she picks up a computer disc and hands it to him.

"Don't worry about it. I was awake anyway. How are you?" She looks at him with genuine concern and he puts a gentle hand on her shoulder in reassurance.

"I'm doing good. Work has been hectic so, not to sound like a complete ogre, it's been kinda nice to be able to get stuck into it without feeling guilty about neglecting anyone… What about you?"

She nods mutely and forces a smile. He nods and smiles in understanding, he can tell from the sad expression and stiff posture that she isn't up to talking about it. Holding the disc up he smiles at her.

"I should really get going, I need to get some rest before tomorrow… Once we are both free, we should meet up, have some drinks.." She nods politely and follows him to the door. The bid each other goodnight and he leaves quietly. Neither aware of the confused FBI agent's intentions to mend some bridges earlier. Brennan locks up her door and returns to her room.

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Brennan looks up from her desk and smiles at Zack who is looking at her nervously. She raises an eyebrow and takes the manila file that he is extending towards her. "Everything ok Zack?" He nods and clears his throat.

"Booth wanted me to give this to you, said it's his notes from yesterday, he said that should review them and let him know what you think when you have time."

"Why didn't he come and give this to me himself?" Zack shrugs and Brennan frowns and nods at Zack allowing him to leave her alone once again. She sighs and nods slowly to no one. This was just another step towards confirming that he was losing his interest in her. She is so thankful that she hadn't allowed herself to indulge in fickle female fantasies and allow her heart to rule her mind during their brief encounter, their working relationship is more important than anything that either of them felt. Even as she thinks the words, a sickening feeling in her stomach creates immediate doubt in her mind. Opening her file and scanning over the few pages she sighs and closes her eyes.

Angela entering the room is a welcome diversion and she forces a bright smile for her best friend. "Bren sweetie, you have a fall out with Booth? No puppy dog eyes, drool…. Intense, hot gazing?" Brennan shrugs and then shakes her head.

"Can we talk about something else?"

Angela takes the seat in front of her desk and puts her chin in her hands. "Only if we can talk about this after we've talked about that something else?.. You ok?" Brennan lets out a steady breath and looks at the file in front of her nodding.

"It's just this case, Mandy Thomson was a product of rape. Her mother never told her who her father was because she didn't want her daughter to suffer the shame of coming from a loveless union. And now… the family who caused her mother so much pain after her rape, may well be the same family to break her once again."

Angela takes the file from Brennan and flicks through it. "You think the father did it?" Brennan shakes her head.

"I think it was the father's other daughter. I assume that Booth is preparing to call her in… Not that I would know."

Angela slides the folder onto the table again. "You're not going to argue to go with him?" Brennan shakes her head and gets up from her desk.

"Squints belong in the lab, remember?.. And it's exactly where I am going to be from now on." Angela takes her hand and looks at her sympathetically.

"I'm here for you, you know that? If you need to talk about anything, not just Booth… I guess you both just need some time to figure this thing between you out." Brennan shakes her head slowly and smiles

"I'm fine Angela, and there is nothing to figure out. We both know exactly where we stand now." At that Brennan picks up her coat from the back of her chair and exits.

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Booth hesitates before lifting his hand to knock on her apartment door, after a moment the door opens and she seems startled to see him, a dish cloth slung carelessly over her shoulder. The idea of her expecting to see someone else on the other side of the door angers him but he reigns his emotions in tightly. She steps aside to let him in and he does so without greeting or gesture. Once inside she closes the door behind him and wordlessly makes her way over to the kitchen and continues peeling the vegetables, he follows her and shoves his hands into his pockets.

"I won't stay, I just came to let you know that I arrested Susan Warner for the murder of Mandy Thomson. She gave a full confession this afternoon. I just thought you should know."

He goes to turn to walk away, without turning to face him she sighs. "Is that it Booth?.. Back to where we started.. Are we just forgetting anything ever happened between us?" He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. She braces her hands on the counter, holding herself and the emotional storm inside her upright.

"You've made it perfectly clear Bones that your interests lie elsewhere.. I'm not one for making a fool of myself. This was never going to work, I guess it just took some time to work that out."

She turns now, her eyes flashing angrily at him. "So you just try to brush it aside? Don't I at least deserve an explanation as to what I've done wrong?" His anger rises at this and his voice is raised in answer to her protested innocence.

"What you've done wrong!... Bones I was away from here for barely an hour last night before you call David over! .. I was stupid, I thought for a second, it was a short second, but I thought that you might actually have feeling inside you, that you aren't just bones and ice… Guess I was wrong."

The tears threaten to spill as she meets his cold gaze and she nods slowly. "Had you stayed more than a minute after watching him enter the building you would have seen him exit too, but you know what, you're right, this is much better…. All work, nothing else, you've saved me from wasting my time trying to sort through something that I can never have answers to." He nods bitterly and leaves the kitchen, as he pulls the door open to leave the apartment he hears her "I came to your apartment that night to tell you I love you!" Her words are angry but honest and he knows that they have come out unbidden and unplanned. Regardless they have hit their mark and he pushes the door closed.

Walking back into the kitchen he regards her, her back to the counter, her head hangs in shame of her weak admission and when she eventually looks up to meet his eyes he is caught by the fear and truth in them. Walking quickly to her his hands find themselves tangled in her hair and his mouth hungrily finds her own. Moving his hands to her backside her pulls her legs up and around his waist and seats her on the counter.

Their kisses become gentle but none the less passionate, his hands are tangled in her hair again and he feels as though she is sucking them breath from his lungs while allowing him to breathe at the same time. Pulling back to rest his forehead against her own he meets her eyes, soft and luminous in the light from the kitchen. "I've waited too long to hear you say that Temperance." She nods gently in agreement. "I know how hard that is for you, to admit that. But I love you. I want to make this work."

She smiles wickedly "Then you had better take me to the bedroom, when I get an itch I expect it to be scratched." He smiles and scoops her up in his arms.

"Ma'am my services are at your complete disposal." With that he places a gentle kiss on her nose and carries her to the bedroom.

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End file.
